


Vulnerable

by Aifrit



Series: Voidstrike Drabbles [10]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Anita and Renee are both 19 year old college sophomores, Cute, Cutesy, Developing Relationship, F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Pre-Relationship, Stargazing, Teasing, Voidstrike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24835219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aifrit/pseuds/Aifrit
Summary: Two college students, similar yet different, abandon their weeknight rituals to meet up and spend alone time together. How will their night go when they decide to do something they've never done before?
Relationships: Bangalore | Anita Williams/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Series: Voidstrike Drabbles [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776784
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Vulnerable

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Vulnerable  
> Pairing: Bangalore/Wraith (Voidstrike)  
> Rating: T for language  
> Words: 2372  
> Prompt Request: A combination of two different prompts from tumblr - Date Night + First Kiss.
> 
> A/N: Another thing I wrote on Tumblr. Enjoy!

For most students, university is the time in one's young adulthood where letting loose is expected and taking chances to do dumb shit is inevitable. And if it wasn't for attending the most prestigious IMC university on Typhon for Military Science, Anita would be obliged to agree. Unfortunately, being a member of one of the IMC's most well-known and wealthy military families doesn't leave her much leeway to do either. Luckily for her, being a few light years away from planet Gridiron and the watchful eye of her parents allows her a degree of fun and debauchery. But this? This is... _different_.

Her family and the school can turn a mostly-blind eye to drinking on campus and let her off with a stern verbal warning. It's a dry campus, what with it being military-focused, but other students have been caught and disciplined for using worse. Breaking and entering with trespassing, on the other hand, is liable to get her _expelled_. And yet, here she is sitting on the roof of the Singh Hall of Advanced Sciences staring into the night sky.

She never expected the young woman sitting next to her to be such a... _rebel_. Sneaking into the back entrance of the building was one thing, but picking the stairwell lock to the rooftop was another. Regardless, Anita figures it's part of the package. Renee is quiet, sure, but headstrong and unpredictable in ways Anita finds intriguing.

Even for Typhon's normally temperate weather, it's chilly this Thursday October night. Being this high up - six stories if she remembers correctly? - doesn't make the situation any better. The rare gust of wind bites harsher up here. She's lucky the subtle fear of getting caught keeps her warm enough to rival the hooded jacket she wears.

As Anita lies back on her elbows with a leg up, Renee glances over at her, moving a loose lock of dark hair from her own face. "Bored yet?"

Anita chuckles. "Nah."

Renee chews her bottom lip. "Are you sure? You don't have to stay if you don't want..."

Very funny. It's just past midnight, and they have been sitting here for over an hour. Conversation has been thin. Renee spent some time identifying and discussing different visible constellations and celestial bodies but not much else. She's never very talkative unless she's fawning over the latest discoveries in tech and astronomy. None of this bothers Anita at all, though. She's just happy Renee feels comfortable enough to discuss her interests. So _is_ she bored? No, not at all.

"If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be, trust me. Besides, you're at risk, too. You sure _you_ don't want to leave? Aren't you worried about losing your scholarship?"

Renee purses her lips, hiding a smile. "I mean, yeah, but... This is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime event. I _have_ to see this. I never really got to do stuff like this back at home."

Anita switches legs. "Which part? The breaking and entering or stargazing?"

Renee narrows her eyes and pushes Anita on the shoulder as Anita laughs. "I _really_ hope trespassing and criminal activity doesn't make it into an anecdote about me. I kinda need recommendation letters for the ARES internship _and_ Pilot's certification."

Anita shrugs. "Dunno, Rey, looks like you're kinda fuckin' that up for yourself."

"Fuck off," Renee says stifling a laugh. She then stares up at the night sky. "I _mean_ the stargazing. There's too much light pollution in my city. And… my family wasn't the most lenient. I know I've touched on this before, but I've always had an interest in the stars. Everything that's up there, you know? Everything we've discovered as humans. Everything that's _left_ to discover. The endless possibilities. And... More than that."

Anita tilts her head back slightly. "What more?"

"I just... Ugh, god," she starts, sighing. "I'm gonna sound like Typhon's biggest nerd."

"You already do that pretty well on a daily basis. I don't think you can get any worse than that."

The quick glance and the smile Renee withholds draws a smirk from Anita and makes her belly backflip. Anita's always loved Renee's expressions when she can't think of a good comeback.

Anita playfully swats her thigh. "Come on, tell me."

Renee turns back to the sky. "You ever... You ever wonder if there are other worlds out there?"

"Like other planets? Past the Frontier?"

"No, I mean... Well..." She clicks her tongue before continuing. "Like... I dunno. Dimensions, if that's a good way to put it? A way to see what choices we can make that affect our present and future."

Anita just hums.

"I have to imagine there are choices I've made that would have had a completely different outcome if I didn't make them in the first place. Like, maybe a dimension where I… _didn't_ ask you to come up here with me?"

"What did you think would have happened?"

"I probably wouldn't have come up here in the first place. Or if I did, I'd… be lonely. But, there's no way I'd know for sure. If it _were_ possible to know, would I regret my choice? Would _anyone_ regret their choices if they knew what followed? These are the things I constantly think about. Sorry if that's too much."

Renee never opens up this much, never allows herself to be this vulnerable. As much as they joke around with one another, Anita knows this isn't the time for poking fun. 

No, she hasn't ever thought _that_ deeply about her own choices, but there's something undoubtedly ominous about being privy to different outcomes. What would have happened if she said no to the invite? Where would she be? Someone's house party, maybe drunk or high? What would _Renee_ do? Sulk about it? Never ask her to hang out again? The thought tugs at her heart.

Anita shakes her head. "Nah, nothing to be sorry about. If that's what you believe, then I don't see it as a bad thing to question. Our choices _are_ important, and there's a lot about the universe we don't know. You're also the smartest nerd I know. Maybe you'll discover it one day."

Renee smiles, averting her eyes. "Thanks."

"Besides," Anita starts, pulling her hood on and lying back completely. "You went to damn near all my basketball games last season. Of course, I'd be here."

"Well, they weren't as boring as I thought they'd be, even if the team kind of sucks. You're really good, too."

Anita shoots up, cupping her ear dramatically. "Did you hear that?"

Renee widens her eyes. "What?"

"Was that a… _compliment_ I heard from Miss Blasey? Those are pretty rare in these parts."

Renee scrunches her nose as she realizes the joke. "Shut _up_ , 'Nita..." she whispers, swatting at her once more with a playful roll of her eyes. When she gazes upwards again, she gasps, tapping Anita on the thigh and pointing. "Look, right there. It's starting!"

Sure enough as Anita lies down and casts her eyes to the dark sky, she sees what Renee has been waiting for. Burning white lights streak across the sky, past twinkling stars and distant Frontier planets. There's five, maybe six of them at first, and then nothing.

Anita narrows her brows. "Is that it?"

Renee takes a few seconds before she responds, whispering as if her voice will scare the shooting stars away. "Oh, no. This is gonna last at least another two hours." She isn't hiding it well; Anita hears the excitement and wonder in her voice. It's endearing. Cute, even.

Renee lies back herself and rests her head on Anita's chest for all about two seconds before she springs up. It's dark, but Anita can just make out the flush on her cheeks. "Uh-uhm, s-sorry, I-"

Anita only gives a soft smile. "Go 'head."

And Renee does.

They lie there, silent, not a word whispered. Anita's heart bangs in her chest, the same intensity of worry and thrill she gets before any game. There's no way Renee doesn't notice. Is it too awkward to be silent during a meteor shower, lying down like this? Too unusual? No, this is normal. Perfectly normal.

...Right?

The sky lights up with meteor after meteor streaking across the sky. Most burn bright white, others white-blue, with the rare meteor streaking a brilliant red. It's unlike anything Anita's ever witnessed in her life. One particularly large meteor sails across the red-yellow dot of Gridiron. The sight leaves her awestruck. With her sudden interest, she can only imagine how fascinated Renee is.

"Did you see that?" Renee whispers, slipping a hand over Anita's. 

The question sounds more like a statement; words to fill the void, Anita thinks, to make the graze over her fingers more palatable. It's a bold action on Renee's part, but not entirely out of character, just unexpected. Anita respects it.

"Yeah."

And they lie there. In comfort. In silence. In awe.

* * *

Anita doesn't know how much time passes when Renee finally sits up, doesn't really care much. The young woman slips her hand away as she looks down at Anita, brushing the stray lock out of her face again.

"We can go now if you want. Peak's gonna last another hour, but I know you have RO and practice in the morning."

Anita yawns and sighs when she rises, resting an arm on her raised leg. " _You_ ready to go?"

Renee avoids eye contact, instead turning her focus to the sky once more. "No. No, not really." Her words linger in the air between them, like there's something else she wants to say. "I could stay out here all night. But..." She finally locks eyes with Anita. "Astrophysics isn't exactly the easiest major, so I kinda… need to be awake for… a lecture in the morning."

"Right..." Anita says, nodding slowly. Her response is as dry as ever, not because she's at a loss for words, but because the tension between them, and Renee's own response, just feels... off. Foreign. Not to mention, Renee hasn't been to her Friday morning lectures since week one. There's a mixture of confusion, eagerness, and excitement bubbling just under the surface. Nothing else in Anita's nearly twenty years of life has ever felt this unfamiliar and thrilling.

"Thanks. For coming up here with me. It means a lot. I don't know if I would have been able to share this with anyone else."

Such a simple statement hits Anita pretty deeply. She's known Renee for just over a year. For Renee to express herself in this way must have taken a great deal of courage and probably a degree of embarrassment, if her horribly flushed cheeks are any indication.

Anita shrugs. "Don't mention it."

"There's just… one more thing?" Renee scratches her nails against the concrete underneath them.

"What's up?"

Renee doesn't utter another word. She doesn't even move. She looks frozen in place like a deer in the headlights. It takes several seconds, but she gathers herself. "Can you… close your eyes?"

The chilly, open air offers no respite from the tension; it's even harder to breathe after those words. Anita knows, or rather she _feels_ she knows, what comes next. The thrill is beginning to peak. As much as she wants to jokingly say "no", to tease and make light of the situation, it's not hard to tell that Renee's choosing to open herself up to no one else _but_ Anita. Any misstep may close her off, possibly for good. She wants her to be comfortable. 

So she closes her eyes.

Anita hears the scratch against concrete as Renee shuffles closer. She senses her presence right in front of her face. Feels Renee's breath ghost her lips. Smells the cherry blossoms in her hair. Something brushes her cheek - a hand, fingers, maybe? Anita waits with bated breath.

It feels like an eternity. Cars rumble away in the distance. A quick breeze blows. The hand on her cheek shifts, and her hood falls with it. Fingers brush the underside of her chin before she's drawn in closer…

Renee's lips ghost her own before capturing them in the gentlest kiss she's ever experienced. The simplicity and tenderness of it is unbelievable, unreal. Renee pulls away as slowly as possible, seemingly not wanting to break contact herself. 

Anita's eyes flutter open, and she gazes at Renee, admires her - from the loose lock of midnight hair, to the shape of her blue-grey eyes, to her nose piercing, to full lips and the soft curves of her jaw. She’s stunningly beautiful in ways that Anita always knew but never fully admitted to herself. 

Renee parts her lips. Her cheeks are tinged pink, as much as Anita can see. She breathes a simple syllable before she gives up and kisses Anita once more. When Renee pulls away again, she does so for good, backs away to put space between them.

It's hard to think and gather her thoughts after that, but Anita takes a deep breath and realizes she's shaking. Renee barely holds eye contact and says nothing, like she's waiting patiently for a response or a rejection.

Anita's just about to open her mouth when Renee interrupts. 

"Wait. Before you say anything. Just know that I've been wanting to do that for… a while. A _long_ while. But… I understand if you don't-"

"Rey."

Renee stops and listens intently.

"Wanna stay a bit longer?"

Anita swears she hears her friend swallow hard.

"Please?" Renee whispers. 

Anita smiles and lies down. Renee rests her head on the same spot on her chest. It seems her confidence returns as she finds Anita's hand to play with her fingers once more.

"I've been wanting to do that, too," Anita breathes. 

She hears Renee's voice catch in her throat, but the young woman says nothing further. Just caresses Anita's larger hand until she finally interlocks their fingers. 

It's late, but it doesn't matter. Not anymore. They'll both go home eventually, maybe soon, maybe later. Lectures and basketball practice and ROTC can wait. For now, all that matters is their time spent together lying on the roof. For now, all that matters is the night sky and shooting stars. For now, all that matters is… each other.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this fic, read the sequel ["Rude Awakening".](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26817652)


End file.
